Roll towel cabinet



March 1933. Q W THQMPSQN 1,902,198

ROLL TOWEL CABINET IWI/e 77 Zai* CLM/w WWW Y @3f/m, www

March 2l, 1933.

C. W. THOMPSON ROLL TOWEL CABINET Filed Jan. 31, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 n n a o MAN c". da

Patented Mar. 2l, 1933 UNITED STATES PATE-NT orifice' CHARLES W. THOMPSON, OF WOIiLASTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE AS- SIGrNllIEINITS, TO STEINER SALES COMPANY, OF SAUF" LAKE CITY, UTAH, A CORPORA-j- Trou or noni. TOWEL CABINET Y Y Appncatin land January a1, 1929. j seriai N. 336,518. n' Y ,l

catiomSerial No. 819,532, filing date-No- This invention relates to a` towel cabinet, particularly the kind for attachment to a wall or door.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a cabinet having a simple, reliable and inexpensive mechanism to permit withdrawal outside the cabinet of a limited length of toweling and to automatically drawthe' same toweling within the ycabinet upon its release.

It is the constant endeavor of towel supply firms to lreduce the cost of production of towel cabinets and to simplify the mechanism to which the toweling is attached so that it will rarely require adjustment or repairing and so that the toweling may be readily connected to it by a` layman. The improvements illustrated and described herewith are the results of such endeavors.

Heretofore in wall cabinets provided with the automatic take-up' mechanism7 the toweling is left exposed near the front ofthe cabinet just below the bottom and it has been necessary to fasten an extra piece, such as a cleat,'on the bottom, over which the toweling runs, in order to expose suiicient towelingso that the user may see where to grasp it. 'This cleat is unsightly in appearance, the toweling running over it and under the cabinet is wholly exposed, and a cabinet so constructed takes up more room. rIn my present invention, I have dispensed with the cleat yand by using a slidable guard or curtain and providing an opening in the door, a larger portion of the toweling is visible Vto the user,',it is easier Jfor him to see and grasp it, the visible toweling is not wholly exposed, the cabinet occupies less space, it lis more sigh-tly in appearance and the lower ends of the sides of the cabinet serve as guides for the toweling which runs under the bottom.v Y

With the above and other objects inview which will-more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts herein- Vafter more fully described, iclaimed, and

illustrated in the accompanying drawings. vIn accordance with the-rules of practice,

reference is Ymade to my V(3o-pending applivember 15th, 1928 and Serial No. 334,709, filing date-January 24th, 1929. f In the drawings: Y

F'gure 1 is a perspective of the wall cabinet.

Figure 2 is a front elevation with the door open and parts broken away.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal cross-section on the lineV 3 3 of Figure 2.

F'gure 4 is a plan cross-section on the line 'f1-1 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a partial left side elevation of the inner case. 4 Y

, Figure 6 is aperspective of thepawl. I

VFigure 7 is a perspective of the elevator. Figure V8 is VVa plan view showing two lengths of toweling connected by a clasp.

Like numerals andletters of'reference indicate corresponding parts in each figure.

As illustrated, the towel cabinet preferably consists of an outer'frame or section 15 having a top 16, a bottom 17, a back 18, two sides 19 and a lhinged door 20. Thetop 16 has holes 16a cut therein for Ventilating purposes. The bottom 17 extends from just inside the door 20 to within a 'few inches or ythe back 18.`

sides 19, is made in said bottoni just back of the front portion 175. "A lcur-tain or guard 30, later explained, normally rests inv said groove 17 c, and thereby holds the inner case.

QQ'inside the outer frame 15 when the kcabinet is in use. This bottom l17 'is-mounted in the sides 19 and is inset up from the bottom of abv said sides an inch ormore, lso that said sides y serve as guides for the toweiing which runs over the frontedges of said vbottom 17 and directly underit. A hoie'19a is madein each side 19 so the holesare located opposite teach other, in one'oi' which holes a spring19?) is mounted,fwhich spring makes it possible .to 1

insert-and remove a :locking bar later described. The door 2O 1s 'mounted onthe sides 19 by means of hinges 20a and the lower part of the door has a large center opening 20?) cut therein which serves to make part of the toweling visible. door 20 has a mirror 20c set therein and at one side is a locking device 20d, so that persons may be kept from tampering with the inner mechanism or toweling.

Slidably mounted within the outer frame 15 is an inner case or section 22 havinga top 23, a bottom 24, a partial back 25 and sides 26. The top 23 has holes 23a cut therein corresponding with the holes 16a for ventilation of the soiled towel compartment. Narrow slots 236 are cut in the under side of the 4top ateach end into which the sides 26 fit. Attachedto the under side of the top 23 at each end are top Vjoining pieces or cleats 230, and a screw 23d is screwed into each piece 230 and the side 26 tohold the top and sides together. Two small holes 23e are cut inthe top 23 through both of which a. chain, later described, passes. The bottom' 24 has slots 24?) cut inthe upper side at each end into which the sides 26 fit. Attached to the upper side of the Vbottom 24 at each end are bottom joining pieces or cleats 240, and a screw 24d is screwed-into each piece 240 and the side 26 to hold the top andsides together. Rubber bumpers 24e are attached to said bottom near Ythe back end on vwhich an elevator E, later described, normally rests. The back 25 eX- tends from the under side of the top 23 less than half way down and is fitted into slots cut in the sides 26, being inset from the rear edges of the sides 26.

The sides 26 of the inner case 22 have a cleat 26a fastened to the front portion of said sides which makes the sides of this point considerably thicker, thereby providing a space between the side 26 andthe outer `trarne side 19 in whichV space a sprocket and chain mechanism operates, later referred to. A notch 265 is cut in the front edge'of one of the sides'26 to khold the elevatorcliain as later explained. Near the front edge of each side 26 a vertical slot 260 is cut extending from top to bottom in Which slots 260 a towel guard or curtain 30lslides, The top edge of this curtain 30 Yis rounded and it has a front projection 30a near the top, over which clean toweling passes. This projection holds the toweling away from the body of the curtain so the fingers may readily grasp the toweling. A horizontal slot 26d is cut in each side 26 through which slots a locking bar 31 lextends, which bar is mounted in the holes 19a.

I This bar 31 prevents the inner case 22 from being pulled out of the outerframe 15, although it may be partially pulled out, being stopped when'the bar31contactswith the back end of the slots 26d. Italso serves as a towel rod. In the rearportion of said sides i' 26 about one-half way up a towel rod 32 is j rotatablymountedin holes 261e cut into said The upper part of the sides. In the back portion of said sides 26 a vertical slot 26]c is made which extends from top to bottom, in which slots an elevator E runs. The rubber bumpers 24e are located adjacent the bottom of said slots 26f ltends from a'point more than half-way up .the inner case 22 to the bottom 24, commencing just inside thev slotsv 260 and curving downward and backward to the bottom which it'its into just inside the slot 26,4". This `plate 35 vmay be made kof Cottonwood veneer or any other exible material. It serves as a back, provides separate chambers for the clean and soiled toweling and also strengthens the inner ease.

In the upper front portion' of the lower chamber 33 is a driver orfeedcontrol roll A and in the upper chamber 34, adjacent the bottom edge of the back 25,'is a driven or take-up control roll B, both being mounted in the sides 26. These control rolls A and B consist ofV a body 36 with an axle 37 eXT tending therefrom throughthe sides. 4` 26, which axleis rotatably mounted inball bearings 38 fitted into holes 26g cut inthe sides 26. These rolls A and B have a roughened peripheral surface39 obtained by wrapping sand paper or .a sheet of burred metal around the body 36, or the body 36 may be made of material roughenedy on the surface. A sprocket wheel 40 having teeth 41 is vmounted on th-e end of each aXle37, on which wheels a chain 42 is mounted which connects both sprocket wheels so that any motionimparted to eitherroll A or roll B rotates. both. A pawl 43 is attached at one end to the axle 37 ofy the feed roll A, the otherend of which pawl engages thevteeth 41. ofthe, sprocket wheel 40 which is mounted on the take-up rollB.` Its position permits movement-,of the rolls A and B in only one direction-to unwind the clean toweling andy wind the soiled toweling-and locks them against movement in the opposite direction, so that the feed roll A cannot windthe clean towelingnor the take-up roll B unwind soiled toweling.y

The elevator E, which isfroundedv at the bottom, hasia ychain 45 fastened to it at the top, which chain extends up throughthe rear hole 23d and then ,doxvnthrough thefront hole.23e, which holes are adjacent each other. A ring 46 is fastened to the free .end kof this chain 45, and its-normal position is just under the top r23. Wien thefclean toweling is beingattached to themech-anism inthecabi'net the;` elevator E :is-pulled up by thechain` and teca-1.98

the chain 45 and ring 46 are caught in the .-1

notch 265 to hold the elevator up.

Ithas been found preferable to use lengths of toweling of approximately twenty-live yards, and when more toweling is required a clasp 50 is used to connect two lengths by slipping said clasp into the loops 51 at the end of each length, as shown in Figure 8 of the drawings.

The operation orp this towel cabinet is as follows The door 20 is unlocked and swung open, the inner case 22 is pulled out as far as the locking bar 3l will permit, and the curtain 30 is pulled up as far as it will go and held in that position. A roll oi' clean toweling C is placed in the lower chamber 33, resting on the bottom 24 ofthe inner case 22, with its free endV towards the front. The roll C is unwound until a red line running across the toweling toV mark the `length required, be-

comes visible, which indicates a sufficient length has been unwound to make the necessary connections with the cabinet mechanism. The free end of clean toweling goes around the back and over the driver control roll A. Because the inner case 22' has been pulled out the locking bar 3l is at this time to the rear or" the roll A and out of the way, so there is suihcient space for the hand to between it and the back of said roll A to pull the toweling over the roll. The curtain 3() is allowed to drop and the free end of towel-V ing pulled out and over the top of said curtain 30 and run under the bottom 17 of theV outer frame l5. The chain 45 is pulled outwardly raising the elevator E, and the ring 46 is caught in the notch 262) thereby holding the elevator E suspended. The toweling is then pushed into the space 17a up the back and to the rear and over the towel rod 32 and under thedriven control roll B andout of the cabinet. The inner case 22 is pushed hack into the outer frame l5 and the cur tain slipped into the groove 17e where it remains, holding the inner case within the outer frame, serving as a guide for the exposed toweling and a guard for the roll of clean toweling. A winding stick 52 is put through the loop 5l in the free end of the toweling and the stick is then inserted in the slots 26g and pushed until it rests by gravity on the take-up control roll B. The ring 46 is slipped out of the notch 26?) and the elevator allowed to drop, striking the toweling just in front of the towel rod 32 yand carrying it downwardly, forming a loop extending from the top of the towel rod 32 down and under the elevator E and up t0 the soiled toweling roll T. The Velevator E now rests on the rubber bumpers 24e. Any slack in the toweling should be taken up by winding it around the sticky 52, so that the toweling between the clean toweling roll and the soiled toweling roll is fairly taut.

-on :the stick. 'formed between the towelrod 32 and elevator f D The 4door 20 is-closed and locked and the `Cabinetris ready for use,` with the towelingex- .posedin the opening 205. yThe user inserts his lingers between the edge of the toweling and the door 2O and grasping it in back and` front pulls it outwardly where vit is ready for use. The act of pulling the toweling outwardly causes the driver or feed roll A, which is in contact withv the toweling, to revolve which in turn causes the driven or takeup roll B yto revolve, .which is also in contact with the toweling, causing it to wind It is the loop Aof toweling E which makes it possible to automatically withdraw vpart of the used toweling Within the cabinet, and at the same time wind another part of the used toweling around the stickq52. lThe actfof pulling the toweling outwardly lifts the elevator E until its bot tom is opposite the towel rod32, which lift-l ing frees the lop of toweling running from the towel rod-32 under the elevator E and up again, one portion of Vwhich freedtoweling permits the winding oi' the soiled toweling on the soiled toweling roll while another portion permits the user to pull part voi the soiled toweling'out of the cabinet which `provides the necessary slack or play to enable the user to freely move the clean toweling asL he l dri'esshimself. lli' this soiled toweling were not withdrawn more clean toweling would be required as partici the clean toweling would haveto furnish the vnecessary slackrequired in the wiping operation. l/Vhen the'elevator E reaches its highest position which is oppositel the towel rod 32, the driven .or takeuproll B is prevented from any further rotation for no more soiled toweling is available to be wound as long as the user holds the tow- Veling outside the cabinet, and of course, the

driver or feed rocl A cannot rotate if the drivenroll B cannot, .withthe resultthat only a lin1- ited length of clean toweling may be pulled out by each user, thus definitely limiting the service. lt should be understood, in this connection, that there is nothing to prevent anyl one who Vdoes not pull the toweling outside the cabinet, from continuously unwin-ding all of the clean toweling and simultaneously winding it on the soiled toweling roll T. This, however, would be purely wasteful, as the user must pull the. toweling out of the cabinet in order to use it, and the length he may pull out at one time is Vdefinitely limited-as heretofore explained. Thislength is determined by the distance the elevator E travels.

lhen the user has dried himsel the releases the toweling, the elevator E drops on the toweling, drawing it within the cabinet.

lVhen thesupply of clean toweling is ex- Y hausted the door 20 is opened, and the winding stick 52 is slipped out of slots 26g and a Y clean roll inserted in the lower chamber 33.

lf desired, the automatic take-up mechanism may be disregarded by running the towelingbetweenthe two rolls A and B just as explained, only ignoring the towel rod 32 in'which case a loop would have to be left hanging outside.

. Vhile a specific embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described the invention is not to be considered as limited to the particular combination and arrangement of parts as above described except as limited in scope by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention n 1.-A towel cabinet comprising an outer frame and an inner case to it'into said outer frame, a curtain adapted to slide vertically in said inner case, said outer frame having provision to cooperate with saidcurtain whereby said curtain prevents said inner case from being drawn outwardly when the cabinet is in usel Y Y 2. A towel cabinet comprising an outer vframe and an inner case to fit into said out-er frame, a curtain over which toweling passes adapted to slide vertically7 in said inner case,

'25 said outer frame embodying a bottom having a groove therein in which said curtain is adapted to iit when the cabinet is in use to hold said inner case within said outer frame.

3. A towel cabinet comprising a casing, a

support for a towel Vsupply therein, a feeding instrumentality above .sai-d support, a hinged rdoor for the front of the casing having al closed upper panel and an open lower panel a support for a soiled portion of the towel opposite said closed panel, a curtain vertically .slidable in guides in said casing and normally adapted to close said open panel, a cleat on said curtain between which and the upper wall of said open panel the user Y 10 may draw the clean towel, said Wall being in n the path of said cleat to preventraising of said curtain when said dooris closed, the upward movement of said curtainwhen the door is open allowing access to the clean towel 15 support.

CHARLES WV. THOMPSON. 

